The war against Hamas entered a “new stage” and Gaza City is now a “battlefield“, warned Israel on Saturday, which bombs the Palestinian territory day and night and fights ground battles against the militants of the Islamist movement. The military wing of Hamas proposed for its part redeem the hostages which he kidnapped in his October 7 attack on Israel in exchange for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that The war will be “long and difficult”, as its troops continue operations in the Gaza Strip after a night of intense shelling and fighting.
“Since Friday night, a combined force of tanks, engineers and infantry operates on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip,” an Israeli military statement said Saturday night.
2.4 million people
The besieged territory of 362 km2, where 2.4 million inhabitants deprived of everything live, has been practically isolated from the world since Friday due to the interruption of most telecommunications and the Internet. “We entered a new phase of the war. Yesterday, the ground shook in Gaza,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“We attack on the surface and underground, we attack terrorists at all levels, in all places,” he continued. Hamas reported clashes between its Israeli fighters and soldiers who raided Beit Hanun, in the north of the Strip, and Al Bureij, in the center.
The Israeli army warned on Saturday that it considers the entire Gaza City area a “battlefield” and urged the population to “immediately evacuate” the town to the south of the Strip.
military raid
The army began its bombing campaign on October 7, in retaliation for the unprecedented offensive by Hamas militiamen that left some 1,400 dead, including 300 soldiers and the rest civilians of all ages, according to Israeli authorities.
The Health Ministry of Hamas, which governs Gaza, stated in its latest report on Saturday that 7,703 people, mainly civilians, were killed in the Israeli bombings and that 3,500 were children.
The United Nations warned that a land military incursion on a large scale by Israel could lead to “thousands more civilian deaths.”
UN Secretary General António Guterres harshly criticized this “unprecedented escalation” of bombing and urged an “immediate” ceasefire.
Hostage exchange
Hamas militants captured about 230 people in their raid on October 7, whom the Islamist movement proposed to exchange for all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
“The price to pay for the large amount of enemy hostages in our hands is to empty the (Israeli) prisons of all Palestinian prisoners,” declared Abu Odeida, spokesman for the Ezedin al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
After the latest Israeli bombings and “a night of immense anguish”, the families of the hostages, mostly Israelis, said they were “concerned” about their fate and demanded explanations from the government.
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Netanyahu agreed to receive them and stated that he is willing to examine “all options” to release the people kidnapped and transferred to Gaza, without further details.
The armed wing of the Islamist movement said on Thursday that “almost 50” hostages had been killed in Israeli bombings since October 7. AFP was unable to verify that information.